Hair clips are widely used devices to retain the hair of a wearer towards the back of the head. Traditional clips such as claw clips and the like, have a tendency to catch hair in the exposed coil spring and or hinge. As traditional hair clips are typically manufactured in such a way as to combine multiple separate and distinct parts, in addition to the spring and the hinge, there may be other structural elements that can potentially capture hair as well.
When the spring, hinge or other elements entrap hair, the caught hair is frequently pulled out of the wearer's head upon removal of the hair clip, a potentially painful and unpleasant experience for the wearer of the hair clip. Even if the hair is not pulled out, the caught hair may be cut, crimped or otherwise damaged. Such cutting, crimping or other damage can cause the hair to lie at an odd angle relative to the rest of the undamaged hair and therefore be unsightly.
In addition, as hair clips are generally composed of these multiple elements snapped or otherwise fit together, so as to maintain the proper alignment for interconnection, the hair clips typically are formed of hard plastic and metal, which results in rigid elements. As the wearer of a hair clip is often likely to be in a situation where his or her head is likely to contact a supporting surface, such as a head rest in a car, bus, plane, or other vehicle, the rigid structures can be quite painful to the wearer when the hair clip is itself caught between the wearer's head and a supporting surface.
The opportunity for discomfort when the hair clip is caught between the wearer's head and a supporting surface is further heightened by the fact that hair clips, such as claws, do not conform to the wearer's head. Barrettes generally do have a curved profile in an attempt to conform to the wearer's head, but as with claw clips, barrettes have exposed springs and hinge elements that frequently trap and/or damage hair. In addition, the metal and hard plastic elements of barrettes make them generally uncomfortable as well when caught between a wearer's head and a supporting surface.
Although some attempts have been made to cover the spring and hinge of a claw clip, these devices still maintain the rigid structures that may be painfully pressed into the wearer's head. The spring and hinge coverings may also be bulky and displeasing.
Hence, there is a need for a hair clip that overcomes one or more of the drawbacks identified above.